"These are all shares that were shunned when people were down on cyclical shares because of concerns about a global recession," said Pierre-Olivier Gatie, a trader with French brokerage house CPR Finance. "Now that the recession concerns have faded, investors are realizing that the fall's reaction was probably exaggerated, and they're returning to the cyclicals, betting that the sales numbers will be decent in the end."

Another strong performer was food and drinks group Danone. Danone shares surged 18.6 euros to 228.5 euros after the company disclosed that its net profit rose 7.1% to 598.1 million euros in 1998 on a 5.7% jump in operating profit.

The numbers were construed as good, and the stock got an additional boost from the combination of a bullish interview Danone Chairman Franck Riboud gave to the French daily newspaper Les Echos and a ratings upgrade by U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs.

In the interview with Les Echos, Riboud forecast that Danone's international sales would rise to 33% from 24% of total revenues in 2000. Mr. Riboud also noted that Danone has managed to cut its debt to 20 billion francs from 50 billion francs in equity capital thanks to various asset divestments.

In a daily research note, Goldman Sachs said it added Danone to its European "recommended" list, the highest rating the investment bank can bestow on a stock. Goldman had previously pegged Danone a "market outperformer."

Glass and building materials group Saint Gobain gave back some of the ground it gained in the previous session, retreating 2 euros to 118.5 euros.

On Tuesday, Saint Gobain shares jumped 8% on a rumor that corporate raider Vincent Bollore was gearing up to invest in the company. Saint Gobain's fiscal 1998 sales were also expected to be published after the market's close Wednesday.